


Get Some Rest

by axolotlnerd-campcamp (axolotlNerd)



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Also I don't mention it but David totally has ADHD, David's house is just a safe haven for people he loves, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Rated T for Max's vulgar fucking language, Survivor Solidarity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2019-10-24 16:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axolotlNerd/pseuds/axolotlnerd-campcamp
Summary: Max hasn't been staying with David for too long, but things are generally predictable — something very foreign to the kid. As he tries to adjust to his new environment, something out of the normal routine happens, and Max begins to wonder how alone he really is with how he feels.Note: Previously called "See Through The Lies Everytime". This story may be ongoing, and I'm open to ideas for chapters and/or scenes!





	1. See Through The Lies Every Time

_ Maybe I have insomnia. _

The thought was a new one to Max as he tried to get sleep to come to him, no clock in sight but knowing it was probably around 3 in the morning. The bed he laid in wasn’t the one that he knew, a bit firmer and with a lumpier pillow and softer blankets. The whole room was foreign to him, even the starlit sky that leaked through his one window, pale moonlight laid like a dove in the sand across the tan carpet.

He couldn’t fucking stand it. The lack of familiarity had driven him nearly insane over the last few weeks — the one week in between the end of camp and coming here was a big, red blur in his mind, one that he had been pushing to the corners of the room that he’d come to invade.

Max sat up in the dark, looking at the dry light that stretched across the floor. He was quiet and careful as he stepped off the bed, feeling almost defenseless without his hoodie. It was carefully folded on the corner of the bed where his feet couldn’t reach, and for a moment he debated whether to put it on for his small journey.

_ You’re just going to get water,  _ he reasoned.  _ You don’t need your hoodie to get a cup of water. _

As he left the room, he couldn’t help but notice the strange feeling of the lock on the palm of his hand.

At home, the lock was on the  _ outside  _ of his door. 

He closed his eyes, trying to get the image out of his head. Trying to forget the way he pounded on the door, sounding furious but still feeling wet heat behind his eyes. Trying to forget the words he heard, the growled  _ what the hell did that camp turn you into? _

He opened his eyes, trying to ground himself as the answer to his foster parent’s question echoed in his head.

_ A monster. _

He swung the door open, consciously reminding himself that this place was different as he made his way down the hall. He held his breath as he passed David asleep on the couch — the last thing he wanted was to be seen by him like this. There was a reason he always tried to wake up before him.

Though he had safely made it passed the couch, he still walked cautiously, noticing every sound his feet made as they met with the wooden floor, creaking and heavy.

He had taught himself how to fill a glass near soundlessly a long time ago, tilting the cup as to make sure that the water hitting the bottom of the cup didn’t ripple or echo. The only sound that filled the apartment was the sound of water running through the pipes and escaping out the kitchen faucet, low and quiet in the night.

As he turned the water off, carefully taking a sip of his water, a new sound entered the fray.

3 in the morning, and there was someone shyly knocking at their door.

The sound sent Max into a small panic. His mind raced, knowing,  _ I can’t get caught in the kitchen this late, he’s going to be awake any second, maybe I can- _

His racing thoughts were cut off by the sound of the door squealing open, and David talking to the person who had knocked. “Gwen?”

Max raced to the side of the wall, holding his breath as he listened to the conversation.

As soon as she answered, she sounded off, her voice low and tired and a bit strained. “I’m sorry,” she said, voice wavering a bit. “I know it’s late, but I just- I need a place to stay for the night?”

“Yeah, of course, are you okay?” David was still tired, but his concern was clearly stronger than any exhaustion.

“I’m fine.” Gwen said.  _ Liar, _ Max thought in response. “I’ll probably just be here for the night, I’m real sorry I had to come this late, it took forever for me to get an uber and then traffic was just-”

“Gwen.” David interrupted, a smile in his voice. “It’s fine.”

There was a paused, and then a sigh of relief.

“You can take the recliner, I have a couple extra blankets right on top of it.” David explained, and Max could hear him settling back in on the couch.

“Thanks. I’m sorry again.”

“Don’t be.” David reassured, and was quickly asleep once again.

Max figured he’d be stranded in the kitchen for however long it took Gwen to go to sleep. She knew that he was here for however long he could be, until all the paperwork was sorted out.

Unless his foster parents wanted him back.

After a few minutes, Max sighed, figuring the deep silence from the living room must have meant Gwen had fallen asleep. His gaze flickered around the dark, checking to make sure he’d left no trace he’d even been there.

_ Cabinet, _ he cursed silently as he realized he’d left the cabinet door open while grabbing his cup. He was as quiet as he could be, placing his cup on the counter as he reached up to catch the corner of the wood, pushing it closed.

But the sound of feet on creaking wood alerted him to the presence of someone behind him, and as the kitchen light flickered on, he could see Gwen standing in the light.

There was a reason he got up before David in the mornings, always making sure to cover his short sleeve shirt with his hoodie before David had the chance to see what the blue fabric hid. And Gwen caught it immediately, watching as Max hid his face with skinny arms laden in round, rosy dimples, some of which had scabbed over and some still blistering, all still hot with burn scars.

But Gwen didn’t fare much better. The blanket she had tightly wrapped around didn’t cover her neck or shoulders, simply showing tank top straps and dark purple and red splotches over them. A vibrant red spot had formed on her forehead, bruise surrounding the small cut there that still dripped with blood.

They stared at each other for a moment, inspecting each other’s injuries and knowing what the other was thinking.

Max didn’t move, his defensive position being the only thing that comforted him at the moment. He felt exposed, like his sweater was his armor and he’d been caught without it.

But Gwen eventually moved past him, reaching above his head — revealing the hand-shaped bruises that were forming on her upper arm and wrist — to grab a cup and quietly fill it with water.

“So what is it?” She whispered, knowing that Max didn’t want to get caught by David. “Stayed up late playin’ video games? Or can you just not sleep?”

Max lowered his arms, though his heart was still racing and he still felt tense. “Kinda.” He dodged the question, grabbing his cup and looking at her bruises. He knew better than to ask about it. “You need any help with that?”

Gwen turned to ask him what he meant, but as he raised an eyebrow, she thought better. With a reluctant sigh, she spoke. “I need clothes. And a bandaid.”

Max nodded, making his way to the living room to grab her a change of clothes. Before he left, he turned to her, asking one more question. “Did David notice?”

“No.” She said. “You?”

“Nope.”

A few minutes later, Max had brought her a bandaid, sweatpants, and a long-sleeved turtleneck.

 

David had to leave for work in the morning, and Gwen was quick to offer to stay and watch Max. Though he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, CPS required someone to be watching him at all times.

But the air was thick with awkwardness, and though the two normally just put on movies and chatted, neither seemed satisfied with it.

“Jesus fuckin' Christ,” Max hissed as he leaned over and paused the movie. “I can’t believe I have to initiate this. Do you want to talk about it?”

Gwen sighed, closing her eyes and turning away. “Fuck, I don’t know. Not really?”

But Max waited for a moment, knowing there was something else.

“Kind of?” She offered, but Max’s suspicious glare didn’t ease. “…Yeah.”

“It was your boyfriend, right? The one you said got shitfaced at a party last week and started to scare you?”

“How did you know about that?”

“I look through David’s texts sometimes. What happened?” Max crossed his arms, now covered with his hoodie as usual. Gwen looked at him, glaring in judgement before realizing Max’s subject change wasn’t to take the blame off of himself — it was out of genuine concern for her. Genuinely wanting to know what happened in the hopes that maybe he could fix it.

Gwen sighed. “It’s not really a big story. He got drunk, accused me of sleeping with his best friend, obviously I didn’t and he didn’t believe me. Things happened and he kicked me out so I’m stuck here for the day.”

It was quiet, and Max just looked at the paused movie screen. “You know you can’t go back there, right?”

Gwen sighed again. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Max growled venomously.

He didn’t need to move his sleeves to explain anything further. She, who had run away here to escape her abuser, was saying that Max wouldn’t understand — a kid who sat where he did now by running away here to escape his abusers.

When she first heard that Max had run to David’s she was confused as to why he hadn’t just told them what was happening in the first place. She figured it would have been easier for him to have gotten out if he had told them before he needed to catch a bus to the middle of the city at midnight.

But now she was beginning to get it.

“David’ll let you stay. His mom’s sending a twin bed down so I can make my own room, and then you can take the couch and not that stiff ass recliner.”

“I really shouldn’t intrude, things are tough enough for him as it is.” She responded, not knowing if it was her anxiety making her so reluctant to accept Max’s offer or her genuinely not wanting to make things harder.

But the kid stood his ground. “Please, he’s already doing all the work just to keep me here, and lord knows I’m a Goddamned parasite.”

“Don’t say that!” Gwen scolded. “You’re not a parasite, he cares about you.”

“He cares about you, too.” He shot back.

Gwen thought for a while, letting it be quiet. She wanted to stay here, it had always been comfortable and she felt safe here, even with the little harbinger of chaos calling it home. It felt like home, just a little bit.

“Please?”

Max truly had no ulterior motive behind this, nothing but an understanding of where Gwen was coming from and the knowledge that maybe he could help. Through all of his selfishness through the past few months, through camp and then coming here, he was offering something purely out of solidarity and understanding. He almost resented the feeling — so far, empathy was absolutely revolting.

“Fine. I’ll talk to David about it once he gets back. Don’t you have like, homework to do or something?”

“It’s the summer.”

“Summer reading then,” Gwen said with a smile.

Max nodded toward the television. “Just turn the movie back on, I wanna watch Ant-Man get his ass handed to him.”

Gwen picked up the remote with a smile, the soreness of her bruises fading just a bit with knowledge that, at the very least, she wasn’t alone in this.

And maybe home was a bit closer than she thought.


	2. Motionless

It was only a day before things got normal again, Gwen waking up the next morning to what she had been used to over the summer, only a bit better. The smell of pancake batter drifted through the house as she woke up, listening to Max ask why he couldn’t just enjoy his whip cream covered monstrosity without needing to pick around fruit.

But after a week, it was even more familiar, the hellion getting comfortable with insulting her along with David. Not that it was anything they weren’t used to, or thought it was out of true disdain — Hell, David seemed relieved by Max’s behaviour.

It was probably the fact that the kid finally had his own room that made him feel more comfortable, but Gwen had assumed he was like this before she had gotten there. Talking with David on the couch revealed something that he seemed to have been reluctant to share over the phone.

“I thought it would be like camp, just without the other campers and with you on the other end of town.” He kept his gaze away from her as he spoke, a nervous hand rubbing the back of his neck and fiddling with the growing hair there. “But it’s like that one week in between camp and now was… I don’t know. I’ve been worrying about what his parents did to him that made him run away.”

Gwen remembered the valleys of cigarette burns on his arms that night, and the way he had jumped to covering his face when the light flicked on. She could tell him about it, explain what she had seen and let him make his own assumptions.

But she fiddled with the collar of her turtleneck, something David hadn’t commented on. She remembered the way he had indirectly asked,  _ how much do you want him to know? _

She didn’t say anything in regards to the image in her head.

“You never really told me what happened then. It was a stressful week, to say the least.” She smiled as she said it. He had called to briefly explain, not saying much more than  _ Max is staying here for now _ and letting Gwen offer help, being too prideful to actually ask for any. It was a strange similarity the two boys shared.

David shrugged. “It was really late, and my phone started ringing. I don’t get calls from unknown numbers much, so I was curious and when I picked up, Max said that he wanted to know my address. He took a bus to the middle of the city, found a payphone there. I picked him up, obviously — you know how bad those city buses freak me out — and that was it.”

“You never asked him why?” She asked.

“I figured he’d tell me when he wanted to.”

Gwen laughed lightly. “You know the kind of person he is.” She leaned back in her recliner, pausing. “You probably did the right thing, though. Coming here was probably stressful for him, too. But maybe try bringing it up without pressuring him?” She offered the suggestion as she stood up, body acting on a hunger she hadn’t noticed. As she made her way to the kitchen, she offered a final thought. “If it were me, I’d wanna talk about it.”

She wondered if the bruise on her wrist, now fading from a deep bluish purple to green, had been something he noticed.

“Why did you come here?” David asked with a smile, as if he thought he were being clever.

Gwen couldn’t be sure why the question made her breath catch with fear, or why it made her want to instinctively curl into her shirt and hide what had happened to her. She had told David about how her boyfriend, now ex, had begun to scare her, and surely it would come as no surprise to him.

But the last thing she wanted from him was pity.

She reached to the bowl of fruit David ket next to the fridge, calmly taking an apple and making her way back to her recliner. “Alright, I get it.” She sighed. 

“If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.” He said, reaching to pick up the book he had put down on the table when Gwen had woken up. After a moment of looking at his page without reading, he looked back up to Gwen, staring off into space as she ate her apple.

She seemed bothered.

“Hey, I-”

The words he had begun to say were cut off by seeing a sleepy Max round the corner, pulling his hoodie over his head as he grumbled. “We still doing that shopping thing today?”

“Oh! I totally forgot about that until now!” David gasped, putting his book back down. “What do you want for breakfast?”

They were strange to her, how they functioned together. They both looked and acted like they were so polarized from each other, as if they weren’t both stubborn and proud boys who couldn’t tell when to quit. 

“You just gonna sit there? Or do you want some Goddamned food?” Max called across the hallway, almost scolding. Gwen laughed, standing up to walk over for breakfast.

 

The late summer proved to be an unpredictable beast, the group entering Target with a sunny summer afternoon and coming out to be greeted by a heavy downpour. The beating of rain on the hot cement was accompanied by the rumble of thunder in the distance, growling in the heat far away.

David, with the same smile he always wore, told Gwen and Max to just wait in front of the store while he got the car, leaving the two of them under the overhang, safe from the newborn storm.

Gwen thought about David’s words from that morning, saying,  _ I figured he’d tell me when he wanted to. _ And yet she stood there, wanting to talk about what had happened, and she had — just not with him.

The only person she had felt comfortable talking about her situation with was the angry ten year old who stood next to her, glaring at the rain as if it had hurt him, personally.

“So I talked with David this morning.” She said, voice low, as if she were telling a secret.

“…Alright?”

“I get why you haven’t talked to him about any of that.” Gwen tucked a loose curl behind her ear, trying to find the right way to say what she wanted to. “But I don’t think that means you shouldn’t talk about it at all.”

“Well then what do you suggest? Since apparently you have all of the answers?” Max hissed. Gwen knew that it was not out of anything truly resentful towards her; the kid felt the need to defend himself, and seeing it knowing what she did now explained a lot of things about camp.

“You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, but you know that I understand, at least a little bit.”

The roll of thunder rippled through the air, a low growl in the late summer wind’s hoarse voice. The sound of tires hitting the pavement alongside the rain was the only interruptor to the conversation, Max keeping his words to himself.

Gwen couldn’t analyse him. She didn’t know if bringing it up was helping or not, and she couldn’t quite bring herself to ask.

“Thanks.” Max finally said, quietly. “You get it, right? I just- I don’t wanna bring it up with David.”

“No, I get that. You feel like he’d feel bad for you, yeah?”

“Kinda.” 

Gwen paused, thinking for a moment. “You feel like he’d worry about you?”

Max sneered and looked away, but nodded slightly.

“Oh, look at you! You actually care about him just a little bit.” Gwen teased with a smile, poking his shoulder.

“I do NOT!” Max fumed as Gwen laughed. “I swear to God, if you ever tell him about this-”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Gwen said joyfully as David pulled up to the curb.

“I just remembered that I forgot something in there!” He exclaimed as he jumped out of the driver’s seat. “Could you just load that stuff into the car while I run back in?”

Gwen and Max agreed, grabbing bags from the cart and loading them into the trunk contently.

 

Max was adamant about being able to set up his room on his own, taking the sheet set and pillows and closing himself in the room. David seemed to be okay with that, just saying that if the kid needed anything at all to let him know.

“So, when I got there with the car, I was thinking that I should grab you and Max something.” He explained, sorting through the bags and putting everything away with Gwen. He pulled out a mug, white with black handwritten text that said  _ ‘#1 Counselor’. _ “I know you had your number 2 one at camp, but I know you haven’t gotten your stuff from your last place yet, or if you still have it, and I think you deserve better than that anyways-”

He breathed in, having run out of breath rambling, and Gwen took the cup with a smile. “I’m guessing you got Max one too?”

“Yeah! I couldn’t find his ‘nope’ cup, anywhere, so I decided this would be better.” He held up a white cup that read  _ ‘FUCK’  _ in big, dark letters. “Do you think he’ll like it?”

“Well, it’s definitely true to his style.” She laughed. “That’s really sweet of you. I felt a bit bad when he wouldn’t pick anything for himself.”

“I also grabbed a poster, just ‘cuz the walls are so bare in there. He probably likes Spider-Man, right?” Before Gwen could answer his question, David looked at the clock, jumping at what it read. “Oh, shoot! It’s already 12:30? I didn’t even think about lunch!”

He grabbed Max’s mug and searched for the poster he’d gotten before running up to the kid’s room. Gwen could hear him yelling for a moment, saying “I don’t care, food!” when asked about lunch and then getting quiet for a moment.

She heard a quiet ‘thanks’, and then David came back into the kitchen with a wide smile on his face.

“So,” He started, beaming with pride. “What should eat for lunch?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to AtlasTheMayor for convincing me to write a second chapter of this! While this chapter wasn't anything particularly special, I do have one more idea for a chapter that I'm going to work on. Since I'm not being too rigid with the length or quality of these chapters, it shouldn't be too long, so keep an eye out for that!
> 
> As you may have seen from the update to the description of this story, if you have any ideas for chapters or scenes in here, I'd really love to hear them — I really like this story, but I don't exactly know where to go. So if you think of anything, please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to bring your ideas to life. <3
> 
> Anyways, thank you all for reading! Much love!


	3. All Men Are Pigs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for abuse and violence. Stay safe out there <3

“Gwen.”

Max’s voice was a hushed whisper, breaking through the 3 AM heat to shake her awake. Gwen stirred, groaning with tiredness and frustration. The day before had drained her, and getting woken up at this ungodly hour had not been in her plans. 

“What, what’s-”

“Someone’s at the door.” Max hissed, and it was then that Gwen realized something was off. He sounded on edge, angry and scared like he was a kid.

Gwen sat up from her spot on the couch, leaving her exhaustion behind as she silently crept to the door, glancing through the peephole. A tall man with broad shoulders stood in front of the door, leaning on his heels as he carried a beat up cardboard box in his hands.

“Is that your ex? Why the hell is he here this late?”

“Hell if I know!” Gwen hissed. It was as if the bruises on her neck and wrists were tingling, reminding her of what had happened, reminding her of what could happen again. She put her back against the wall, trying to steady her breathing and figure out a plan.

Max looked at her panicked expression, remembering something himself. “What should I do?” He whispered, wondering if Gwen would just pretend that no one was home.

But when he knocked on the door again, louder this time and making Gwen flinch, it was clear that wasn’t an option.

Gwen’s lower jaw shook for a moment, but she swallowed the feeling, composing herself for a second. “Just go to your room, I’ll be fine.” She said, turning to face the door. She spoke again, scared and small. “I’ll be fine.”

Max looked up at her, wondering how someone so tall and once confident could seem to have been shrunken down like this. He turned, rounding the corner to the hallway where his bedroom door faced David’s, looking at the identical and opposing rooms.

He was anxious as he pushed the door to David’s room open, holding his breath. He had done this before when he as younger, when he was in a different home — and it scared the shit out of him to remember what the aftermath had looked like.

But he was a kid, and knew that he certainly couldn’t do anything to protect Gwen if anything went south. In a split second, he bit his tongue, trying to decide between the voice in his head that murmured memories of loud, red voices and the need to help in whatever way he could.

He remembered Gwen’s face as she looked at the door, and hearing it creak open, he remembered the adults that were on the other side of his own not even that long ago, remembered the shudder that ran down his spine and how he had so desperately wished someone was there to help him.

“Psst.” Max hissed, jabbing a finger into the ginger’s shoulder. He turned, eyes blinking open, squinting and confused.

“Max? Are you okay?” David muttered, sleepy and confused but already waking up.  _ Thank God you’re such an insomniac, _ Max thought as the adult sat up, rubbing his eyes and waking up.

“Gwen needs help.”

 

“Hey.”

He was awkward as he muttered the greeting, shifting his weight and not looking at the woman in front of him.

“Hi.” She sounded confused and tired, and she knew she had every right to be. Gwen clenched her teeth, biting down on all of the awful things she wanted to say. She had imagined this meeting, imagined saying something so heartfelt and angry that he would have to feel sorry, no matter how awful of a person he had been — she had imagined him realizing what he had done wrong, and changing because of it.

But that was a childish pipe dream, and that knowledge was nothing of her imagination.

“What… Do you need?” She asked, almost venomous in her tone, hoping it would hide the fact that she was trying to hide behind the door.

“I figured I’d drop off your things.” The man said, looking away with a shrug.

“I thought Miranda was going to do that. Tomorrow.” She hesitated, but seemed to straighten herself out. When she wasn’t shrunk behind the door, they were easily the same height, and all Gwen could do was hope that it made them seem like they were on equal footing here.

“I just thought I’d help you out.” He offered.

“At three in the morning?” Gwen leered.

“Jesus Christ, I’m tryin’ to be fuckin’ generous here.”

Gwen opened her mouth to snap at him, but bit her tongue, not wanting to provoke him. He held out the box of her things, books and clothes and a few posters. She knew there had to be more, but she wanted to get this conversation over with as soon as possible. Her most important things were here, and that’s what mattered.

“Thanks,” she muttered, taking the box. But something still hung in the air between them, something that made Gwen’s stomach turn.

The man in front of her finally looked up, something in his eyes that made Gwen shudder. “There’s no way I can convince you to come back?”

She just glared at him, trying not to say anything. The truth was, she desperately wanted that. Things had been good before, they always were when he wasn’t drinking, and her situation now was unstable and messy and unpredictable. She liked sleeping in a bed with someone she cared about, and no matter how much safer David’s apartment was compared to her apartment with her ex, the lonely couch just couldn’t compare.

“You know that wasn’t me. I just get stupid and crazy when I’m drunk. I love you, I love you so much that it drives me insane and I just… I can’t do this without you.”

Gwen’s breath caught, and for a moment, she forgot about the dark spots of purple and blue and green that littered her body. For a moment, she forgot about how she was completely conscious of every bruise that stained her skin. She forgot that a bruise is how the body remembers it’s been wronged.

But before she could speak her death wish, the man said something that snapped her out of whatever state he had put her in.

“You know I’d never hurt you.”

Her gaze flickered up to him, up to the tear filled gaze he held in his eyes, acting like he was the victim here. Acting like he had been the one left alone on someone else’s couch, like he had to sit there and wonder if it was something he had done.

“But you did.” She seethed, snapping back to reality and wondering what on Earth she had been thinking. “You  _ did _ hurt me, and I still have the fucking scars to prove it.”

“Gwen, I’m so-”

“Don’t say you’re sorry!” She exclaimed, putting her box down so she could stand taller, unweighted and strong. “You don’t get to be sorry. You don’t have to stay at your friend’s apartment without any of your own shit for two weeks, you don’t get to be sorry because you’re not covered in bruises by someone you thought loved you.”

“I just wanted you to know that I love you! I wanted you to know that I care about you, and that I’m sorry.” He begged, though anger was beginning to rise in his tone.

“Then you should have done that  _ before _ you kicked me onto the city street in nothing but my pajamas! Maybe you should have done that before you dragged me out of the house by the wrist and told me to come back when I wasn’t a lying, cheating, bitch!”

His expression had contorted into a glower, and immediately Gwen felt her heart sink as she shrank back. Once again, they were back where they started, where she tried to back away behind the door and he stood broad shouldered and wild eyed.

He took in a hiss of breath, bearing his teeth like an animal, and all Gwen could do was hold her breath and close her eyes tightly.

 

Max and David had hidden themselves away behind the corner, not wanting to reveal their position. Neither of them knew who was at the door, or if their presence would make the situation better or worse.

But as the conversation went on, David put a hand to his mouth, a grave look etched onto his face as he looked at the floor. He just hadn’t known, and the regretful thought that he should have asked or insisted on an answer hung heavy around him.

Though he had seemed so lost in his sorrow, the long pause in the conversation had him alert, taking in a deep breath and waiting.

Gwen screamed, a shrill and scared sound breaking through the summer air as a loud bang of something against the door frame sounded out to accompany it.

“Gwen!” Max exclaimed, running out of the hallway ahead of David and dashing to the woman there. She grasped her head, sat on the floor and scrambling to get up. The man from the doorway made his way inside, rearing back with a tightly wound fist.

Max knew what he was facing when he grabbed Gwen, placing himself in between her and her attacker as he clung onto her leg. He didn’t expect the man to stop at the sight of him, having learned that scared children get hit just as often as brave ones do and the only protection courageous ones were offered was pride. The only thing he was trying to do was the one thing he wished he’d had those weeks ago.

He winced, completely ready to take a hit, but when the clatter of footsteps sounded out and he felt no impact, he looked up to see David standing in front of him. He was just a silhouette from the orange lamplight outside, but his red hair was lit up and his green eyes shone with something that Max had never seen on his face.

David pushed the man away from the pair of people behind him, backing him to a wall with a glare that looked so foreign on his face. It was easy to forget how strong he was.

_ “Never.” _ His voice was cold and a winter storm, biting like hail and as venomous as it would ever be.  _ “Never _ hurt my family.”

Gwen held Max to her as she watched the scene, the man thrashing for a moment before David gripped his wrist, dragging him out the door and practically throwing him onto the ground.

“If I ever see you here again,” he growled. “I’m calling the cops.”

By the time he had turned around and shut the door, his expression had softened, and when he looked at Gwen and Max, he had become someone new. Someone sorrowful and desperate to help in anyway that he could.

Gwen carried the kid to the couch where her blanket was still haphazardly thrown to the side, still scared and not ready to admit that she was being comforted by him and not the other way around. David joined them, wrapping his arms around them tightly.

“Are you guys okay?” He whispered, and Gwen let out a small whimper, not at all ready to answer the question. Instead of pressing for an answer, he just quietly hushed her, running a hand through her dark auburn curls and letting her lay on his chest.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, trying to look at Max. “You shouldn’t have been there for that. You don’t deserve that.”

The kid shook his head. More than anything, he was relieved it was all over — and with the way David had been so focused on being something he was not made him sure that it was. As he thought about what to say, he looked at his arms, the scars there uncovered in his pajama t-shirt but invisible in the darkness. 

“You don’t either.” He said quietly, reassuring. Then he paused, eyes adjusting to the darkness and scanning Gwen’s face. “You’re bleeding.”

She sat up a bit, touching the spot above her eye that had hit the doorframe and feeling the hot blood there. She cursed, an awful feeling in her stomach.

Max turned, moving off the couch. “I’m gonna head to my bed anyways, I’ll grab a bandaid.”

When the kid returned, Gwen was already half asleep, the memory of tears still reflecting light off her cheeks. David kept his arms around her, eyes closed and trying to find a way to apologize, as if it were his fault for not knowing.

Max handed him the bandage, and David was quiet and sullen as he unwrapped it and carefully put it on the small cut Gwen had formed on her eyebrow. The kid turned to return to his bedroom, but was stopped before he could round the corner.

“Max, wait.” David said, voice low and sorrowful. The kid stopped in his tracks, not wanting to have this talk. Had he noticed the scars? It seemed too dark to have really seen anything, but maybe he had noticed it from the outside lamp light. Or maybe he gave it away by trying to get in the way, being so desensitized to the idea of getting hit.

Max held his breath, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall as he waited for David to speak once again.

“Max, I’m…” He sighed, quiet and ashamed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

It was quiet for another moment.

“Please… Don’t do that again.” David said quietly. Max wanted to say something snide in response, acting like he didn’t know what he was talking about. “Please don’t put yourself in harm’s way like that.”

Max paused, shifting his weight on his feet as he turned around. “But… Gwen could have gotten hurt-” He stopped short. 

“ _ You _ could have gotten hurt.” David sighed, a tremor in his voice being to only thing to reveal how scared he was.

Max’s face felt hot and his throat was tight, and he couldn’t tell what emotion was causing the reaction. He wasn’t embarrassed — if anything, he was ashamed. He thought about what Gwen had said earlier that day,  _ you actually care about him a little bit. _ He felt guilty knowing he had scared David, and it was a feeling he wished he could scratch out of his system. It was foreign and sure as Hell not welcome.

He didn’t know how to react to David’s words. It had never occurred to him someone would care if he’d gotten hurt. He looked back on what Gwen had said to him, and it had just never occurred that someone might apologize for him seeing that. It had just been something he’d been exposed to, and it had been normalized.

So he stood there, dumbfounded and confused. “But if you weren’t there, Gwen could have gotten hurt.” He repeated, quietly and childishly.

David laughed, though it wasn’t from the heart. Not like how it usually was. “You don’t have to keep people from getting hurt, Max. You’re a  _ kid. _ Let yourself be that.”

Max just stared at him, speechless.

“I don’t know what happened to you before this,” he said quietly, looking at Gwen asleep on his chest. “I just know it must have been pretty bad. And no matter what it was, I want you to know that it won’t happen again. Not ever. I’ll  _ always _ be there for you, Max.” David looked over, and though the kid was just a silhouette in the darkness, he hoped he could see just how badly he wanted to keep his promise. “Always.”

Max looked at David in the darkness, feeling the scars and scabs on his arms as if there was static under his skin to make him aware of it. The heat on his face had moved behind his eyes, and he bit down on the feeling as he stood there. He wanted to punch something, or at least he thought he did, because he had no idea why he was crying and it pissed him off to no end.

_ I should be happy, _ he thought.  _ I should be grateful, I should be sorry. _ The thousand trains of thought running through his head finally aligned on the one bitter thought, a result of the years of abuse he had faced. So many times he had been told that, told that he should be grateful for everything they had done for him. Told that he should be sorry for leeching off of them for all this time and giving them nothing in return.

_ I deserve to be happy. _

The thought ran through his body like a sob, coming out as a heavy sigh as he let the tears in his eyes fall. He thought of it again, thought of the pizza place he had first heard it and how for a second he’d had his family back. For a second he had an honest to God  _ family, _ and nothing really compared.

“Thanks.” He whispered.

“Max? Are you okay?” David asked quietly. 

“I’m fine. I’m going to bed.” He said, turning around.

David wanted to call him back, ask if he was okay, but as he heard the door click shut, he decided to just trust the kid’s judgement.

And Max put his back on the closed door, sliding down to sit on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest. As he sobbed, he kept his hands over his face, trying to catch the tears before they could reach the floor. He had absolutely no idea why he was crying — he wasn’t sad, not at all. He had no words for what he was feeling, and all he knew was that he felt so many things he didn’t know where to start. Overwhelmed and miserable and powerless.

But for the first time in a long time, he felt loved. And for now, that was the most important thing. For now, he had a bed with his own sheets, in his own room, one that didn’t have the lock on the outside of the door and instead had a poster and a mug that were given to him purely because someone looked at them and thought he would like them.

For now, it was 4 AM, and he was safe.

 

When Gwen woke up, she still felt groggy and upset. Her blanket had been pulled over her, barely covering her shoulder and the arm that was still wrapped around it.

She looked up, seeing David sound asleep as he leaned against the back of the couch. His hair was bent downwards, not yet having been pulled up with his optimism and instead favoring to fall into his face, half covering one of his closed eyes. The skin around one of them had turned a reddish-purple overnight, a bruise that made Gwen’s guilt sink heavier into her stomach.

_ He can’t go to work like this, _ she thought, sighing and feeling ashamed, despite it not being her fault.

_ Work. _ She panicked for a moment as she looked at the clock, knowing that David had to be in by 7:30 and that he was supposed to be in today. She shook him awake, watching him blink in the late morning light.

“Shit, I’m sorry, you gotta get to work. You must be exhausted, I’m so sorry-” Gwen rambled, and David sleepily stuttering cut her off.

“Gwen, I called in sick. It’s fine.” He said calmly before covering his mouth as he yawned. “Just get some rest, okay?”

She relaxed, letting the tension that had built up in her shoulders fade. With nothing to say, she hummed, looking back at the clock and forgetting the time as soon as she looked away, deeming it unimportant. She laid back down on David’s chest, comfortable for a moment before she felt a blush settle on her face. “Sorry, do you mind?” She said quietly, and David shook his head.

“Not at all.” He replied, rubbing Gwen’s shoulder lightly as she laid down, falling asleep once again quickly. As he looked at the bandaid over her eyebrow, he put a hand on her head, touching the soft curls there. He leaned back on the couch, and whispered once again.

“Sleep well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to upload this chapter until I was finishing up/done with the next chapter, cuz I didn't want to leave you guys hanging with all the emotion still heavy. The next chapter should be up later today or tomorrow! As always, thank you for reading!


	4. Close My Eyes

_“Spring rain has brought fresh grass, and with it, new life.”_ The voice echoed quietly from the speakers of David’s television, the miniseries he had put on cutting through Gwen’s head and into her dreams. She blinked, her eyes still burning with tears and face still feeling stiff. She shifted with a sigh, trying to relax.

“You awake?” David asked quietly, and Gwen could feel the rumble of his chest underneath her. She hummed, confirming regretfully that she had woken up. “How are you feeling?”

Gwen groaned, closing her eyes. She was sore all over and her body was still tired from being so tense. If not for the fact that her stomach was begging to be filled, she would have stayed asleep all day. Not to mention that she felt awful emotionally, as if she could feel her lows in her mind. “Like shit.” She replied, the simple description explaining everything with ease.

David just hummed, understanding. “Do you need anything? You’ve… Got a little bump on your head. Should I get ice?”

Gwen sat up, putting a hand to the bruise on her forehead. It was hot and raised, aching when she touched it. “Nah, I can get it, thanks. Where’s Max?”

“Still asleep, probably. I didn’t want to wake you up.” He said with a smile. “And you’re sure you’re okay? If there’s anything I can help with, I-”

“I’m _fine,_ David.” She sighed, stretching and glancing at the TV. _Planet Earth II_ played, showing images of some grassland in Africa with elephants parting the stalks to make their way to somewhere else, from somewhere else. As she stood up to make her way to the kitchen, she looked back at David stretching, touching his black eye and checking the damage. “Thanks.”

 

Max was typically grumpy in the morning, glaring at anything in his path as he made his way to the fridge to grab something to drink, but today he seemed calmer. Rather than being a destructive force looking for water, he seemed a bit more like a normal kid, stepping quietly over to the fridge and pulling out the carton of orange juice.

“Hey, kiddo.” Gwen said, glancing over. She had busied herself making freezer waffles in the toaster, and looked over as he reached up for a glass. “I’m guessing David woke you up?”

“Yep.” He replied plainly, no normal bitterness in his voice.

“You okay?” She asked. He hadn’t put on his hoodie, instead seeming confident in the dime shaped scars on his arms.

“Yep.” He repeated.

“You sure?”

Max took a sip of his drink, quietly putting the orange juice away. “Yep.” He said once again, then walked over to the table to sit down.

The waffles popped up with a clatter from the toaster, and Gwen made her plate, coating it with maple syrup and sitting at the table next to Max. “You want any food?”

“Can’t eat in the mornings. Gives me a stomach ache.”

Gwen nodded, instead just beginning to pick on her own food. With a sigh, she spoke. “Listen, you don’t have to tell me, ‘cuz I get that it might be personal.” She started. “But… Why did you do that?”

He easily could have pretended it never happened, and maybe Gwen would have liked it that way. But he was getting increasingly more and more tired of hiding what had happened to him, and how it explained the things he did.

“You mad at me about it?” He asked, looking away from her.

“Probably not for the reasons you think I am. You could have gotten hurt.”

“I know. David already gave me that lecture.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

A heavy pause sank in, no sounds in the house except the bathroom sink water where David prepared for the day, seperate from the pair of them.

“When my parents…” He started, quiet. “They were my foster parents. Not my real ones. I had a brother and sister with my real parents, and that was good. But then with my foster parents, it was just me. And when things got bad, I was alone.”

It was quiet again for a moment, and Max pulled his knees to his chest, resting his heels on the edge of his chair.

“I was only there for, like, a week after camp ended. But the times it happened then, I just remember thinking, _‘I wish I wasn’t alone in this. I wish somebody else just understood.’_ ”

Gwen looked at her food, shoulders slouched as she thought about what Max was saying.

“I don’t know. Maybe it was stupid.” He muttered, crossing his arms. “But you’re okay, right?”

“Yeah,” Gwen said quietly. “I mean, I feel like shit, but it’s over now. That’s a step, right?”

Max let out a half hearted laugh, taking a sip of his juice. “Then it doesn’t matter,” he decided. “It’s over with.” He stood up, marching towards his room with his glass of orange juice.

“Thanks,” Gwen called after him, and all he did in reply was raise his glass as if he were offering a toast.

 

Gwen and David were glad to spend the day in their pajamas, putting on whatever Netflix show caught their eye. Max wandered in and out of the living room, occasionally grabbing something to snack on and stopping in front of the TV, checking on what was happening before retreating back to his room.

By noon, everyone was starting to seem interested in a real meal. David checked in with Max to see if he was okay with eating grilled cheese, to which he was met with a snappy _‘I don’t give a fuck’._ Regardless of the angry response, he smiled as he made his way to the kitchen, happily starting to cook.

Gwen, who didn’t want to keep sitting in front of the couch, followed just to sit at the kitchen table and watch him cook. While she wanted to offer to help, David seemed absolutely content to cook on his own, not to mention she would probably only get in the way — she had never been too great of a cook.

Then again, she had memorized her mother’s enchilada recipe, and she figured she needed some way to thank David for all he’d done over the past week.

“Hey, so I, uh-” David stammered as he fiddled with the stove. “I was wondering if I could ask you a question? I get if it’s a bit personal, so you don’t have to answer, but-”

“It’s fine. Shoot.” Gwen interrupted, knowing that he’d continue rambling until he convinced himself not to ask if she let him go on.

“I was just wondering — and again, you don’t _have_ to answer — why did you decide to come here? Not that I have a problem with it! I was just curious, since I know you have other friends who probably live closer to the city, and-” He stopped himself short, realizing he was rambling yet again.

Gwen took a moment to think about it. To be honest, she didn’t even know why she decided to come here. After thinking about for a moment, she realized that this was probably the only place she wanted to go. “I mean, you got something really nice going here. Look at this — you’ve got family pictures on the wall, cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the kid, hung up a bird feeder outside your window. It’s like being back home.”

David smiled widely. He liked knowing that his home felt safe; it was the exact kind of environment he wanted for Max, and now that she had decided to join, Gwen, too.

“My friends in the city don’t have this kind of thing. It’s all half built apartments and living out of boxes with three other people. I like this a lot better.” She explained. She didn’t have the heart to explain that her friends were also her ex’s friends, and she didn’t want to have to live with that kind of drama.

“Thank you, Gwen.” David said, looking over just to smile at her. “I really want this to be a safe place for you and Max, you know?”

Gwen nodded. “That reminds, I wanted to ask.” She said, resting her head in her hands. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing with this whole situation? Like, with Max?”

While the question was poised as a playful insult, David seemed completely oblivious to it. “Not really!” He said with a smile. “But I definitely have hopes!”

“Let’s hear ‘em.” Gwen said with a shrug.

“Really?!” David beamed, and Gwen nodded. “Well, I definitely do want to adopt him. Right now I’m technically just his foster parent, but if he wants to stay here, I want him to be sure he always has a place to come home to. For Halloween I want to take him and his friends over to that really nice part of town since they’ll probably have the big candy bars, and then for Thanksgiving and Christmas we can head up north where my family lives, I know my mom and sisters would just love to meet him. Once he’s in school I’m going to do my best to get involved, I wanna join the parent-teacher association and make sure he’s getting good grades and getting along with kids, because I know he can be a bit grumpy and rude. And then hopefully someday we’ll get a house, or an apartment with a yard, and we could get a dog because I think every kid should have a pet growing up. And I’d like to get a chicken coop, have you ever seen Silkie or Polish chickens? They have the cutest feathers, they look like the just got blow dried after a bath-” David stopped short, a blush settling on his face as he looked away. “Rambling again, sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Gwen said with a smile. “You’ve got a lot of hopes for this. It’s cute.”

“That’s all just dreams. More than anything, I just want Max to know that he’s safe here.” David focused on his cooking once again, smile faltering and fading.

Gwen stopped smiling, a more somber look taking over. “I take it you saw the scars?”

David silently nodded. “I assumed it must have been pretty bad before — I mean, kids in decent homes don’t up and run away — but I didn’t think it was _that_ bad. He flinched at a car door shutting outside early on, too.”

Gwen was silent, letting David talk his concerns.

“I worry sometimes that he think I’m going to hit him.” He whispered.

“Seriously?”

“I would _never,_ but I hate to imagine him even thinking it. I came home from work one day a few weeks ago and he was cleaning up a picture frame he broke and he seemed freaked out, and I mean, I think he knows that I wouldn’t, but I still worry.”

“David, you cried over stepping on Space Kid’s caterpillar. I think you’d rather kill yourself than let that kid get in harm’s way, and I’m sure Max knows that.” Gwen reassured from her chair.

“But then why would he-”

“It’s trauma, David. He was with those people for way longer than he’s been here, he’s not going to unlearn all of those habits in three weeks.” While David still didn’t look at her, he seemed to have relaxed a bit, the downcast expression on his face softening. “You say you don’t really have any idea what you’re doing with this whole family thing, neither does he. This is new territory for both of you. You’re just gonna have to feel it out, at least try to believe that things get better over time.”

As David put the last of the grilled cheese sandwiches on a plate, the same smile he always carried tugged at his lips.

“If it helps, I think you’re doing a great job.”

David set down the plate of food before turning to hug Gwen tightly. She hadn’t seen it, but the small compliment had brought tears to his eyes, making him sniffle just a small bit as he spoke. “Thank you.”

Gwen laughed and patted his back, pushing him away after a moment, keeping quiet the fact that the embrace had put a bit of pressure on her bruises. “Yeah, yeah, go feed your kid. I’m putting on _Nailed It.”_

“Sounds great to me!” David beamed, letting Gwen take a grilled cheese before heading off to Max’s room.

 

David’s house really did feel like home.

Sometime in between lunch and dinner, Max had gotten bored in his room alone, claiming his recliner and jokingly criticising everything that Gwen and David put on. It was fun to sit there and laugh at stupid plot holes in movies with her makeshift family, fun to forget about what had happened last night and relax.

While Max had seemed out of it that morning, seeming small without his hoodie, his personality seemed to have flooded back with confidence over the hours of the day. Being able to smile and joke the way he normally did with his scars out in the open seemed like it made him more confident.

While the first step had been terrifying, seeing David’s gaze flicker over his arms as his eyes widened, letting it be exposed to the cool breeze was liberating.

But it wasn’t long before the sky grew dark, and after dinner, everyone was getting tired. After Max turned in for the night, Gwen knew it wouldn’t be long until David would too, leaving her to the couch alone again.

It wasn’t that David hadn’t offered her any better — he had practically begged her to take his bed, more than glad to take the couch for himself for however long Gwen would be there. But she wasn’t sure how long she would be staying, and even if it was only for a day, she would feel awful for it.

That didn’t make her feel any less alone while she slept in the living room, though. She had never really lived on her own, and the only time she had a bedroom to herself was after she turned 16.

She had begun dozing off on the couch when David spoke.

“So, I know the couch isn’t very comfortable,” he started, a small blush on his face. “And I wanted to offer-”

“For the last time, I’m not going to make you sleep on your own couch.” Gwen sighed.

“First of all, you wouldn’t be _making_ me do anything! I offered for a reason.” He explained with a smile. “But that’s not what I was gonna say. I wanted to say, and I get if it’s weird, I just wanted to let you know, you could sleep in my bed next to me? It’s big, and definitely a lot comfier than the couch.”

Gwen thought about it for a moment, considering it. “I mean… I don’t know, are you sure I’m not, like, invading your personal space or anything?” She mentally corrected herself as soon as the thought left her mouth. David probably didn’t need any personal space, with the way he let people into it so quickly.

“Absolutely not!” He said with a smile. “To be honest, I’d feel a bit better with you there. I just don’t want you to get hurt or anything, like if Max hadn’t grabbed me. Not that I don’t think you can take care of it yourself!” He backpedalled, a hand on the back of his neck. His whole face had gone red, and he looked away from Gwen. “I just want to be there whenever I can. _And_ offer you something comfier than the couch.”

As he offered a smile to her, she just looked back at the television. “As long as you’re sure I’m not in your bubble.”

“Not at all.” He said with a bright smile. “I’m going to head to bed, just know you definitely don’t have to sleep on this old thing, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She said, settling in on the couch without him. He said his good nights, happily making his way to bed.

As he sat down on the edge of it, he couldn’t help but let his smile fade. He still felt guilty, if only just for not having known sooner. The image of Gwen’s cut on her forehead was still fresh in his mind, and picture of Max’s scars made him nauseous and livid. He just couldn’t comprehend how some people could be so cruel, and it hurt to think that the people he loved had been exposed to that.

But he forced himself to find peace in it, because there really was nothing he could do. The past was just that, and he didn’t have the power to change that. All he could do was hope for a better future for the people he loved, hope for a yard and chickens and adoption papers with Max’s name on them.

And really, if he could just be a safe place at all, that would be enough. All he really wanted was to give them a reason to hope for better, and prove that they deserved it. He had said it once before, and now more than ever, he wanted to prove that they deserved to be happy.

Doesn’t everyone?


	5. Sleep Well

Watching David parent was like something Gwen had never seen before.

He was patient but stubborn, kind as he held his ground when Max asked for junk food or to stay home from school when he wasn’t sick. Despite how uncooperative the kid was, he mostly followed the rules David set, but he was as sly as he was stubborn —  _ “You said no more sweets, Doritos aren’t sweets.” _ And David, being of his word, let the bag stay in the cart as he changed his rule.

But he seemed nervous about the emotional aspects of taking care of a kid, let alone Max. The kid was so cross when things got bad, and David couldn’t tell where his help might become overprotectiveness. He had grown up under a microscope, smothered most of the time, and he knew that that kind of environment would make Max feel even worse. He needed support and freedom, two things David didn’t know how to give together.

Gwen did her best to help, using her knowledge in psychology to help David understand what was happening in Max’s head and her own memories of youth to know how much freedom to allow him. While David did his best to handle things alone, Gwen’s advice always made him feel more confident.

He was oblivious to how little he needed it, though. When he went to take Max to a doctor’s appointment, the kid made a scene, going as far as slamming the door to his room shut and refusing to leave. David asked Gwen what to do, and really, she didn’t know.

“Maybe he had a bad experience at the doctor before?” She offered, though from the way Max had talked, that didn’t seem to be the case. He became defensive as if he were being accused, as if this wasn’t a routine check-up but an investigation.

David sighed. He sat on the floor, leaned against the wall of the hallway by the bedroom doors. He looked lost in his own head, staring at the floor with a small and thoughtful frown.

“Give him a minute to cool off. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

David nodded, only half listening to what she had said and running a hand through his hair. “Am I doing this right?” He asked.

“You ask that everytime something goes wrong, David.” Gwen said with a smile. “There are bound to be bumps in the road, you just gotta deal with ‘em. If it’s any consolation, you’re, like, the greatest person I know when it comes to rolling with the punches.”

David looked up at her with a smile. “You think?”

“You worked at  _ Camp Campbell, _ for Christ’s sake. And you didn’t have a mental break down. Almost the  _ entire _ time.” She deadpanned, and David laughed.

“I guess you’re right, there.” He stood up, taking in a deep breath and putting on a look of determination. “I’m gonna see if he’s doing any better. Thanks, Gwen.” 

She nodded, waving him off with a wish of good luck. While she expected to hear Max start swearing again, it remained quiet for a while, and when David returned, a grumpy Max followed with his hood over his head. 

“Alright! To the doctor’s!”

 

Max had been scared with reason.

There were some vaccinations his foster parents had neglected giving him, and the needles scared him more than anything else David had seen. The nurses were patient, but it still took a lot of comfort to get him calmed down enough.

After that, the doctor said that she wanted to do an x-ray for some bruising and mild swelling on his side. She had seen the scars on his arms and seemed unbothered, and not even the images fazed her.

“There’s a small fracture on the ribcage, here.” She pointed to the image, showing the spot that had broken. “It’s mostly healed now, so there’s not much we can do. You haven’t had any chest pain or fever? No fatigue?”

Max shook his head. He had noticed the pain in his side, and figured it wasn’t anything major. Or maybe he had just wished that.

The doctor nodded. “Well, if it starts to hurt, put some ice on it or take some ibuprofen. No sports.” She turned to David. “Can I talk with you in the hallway for a second?”

Max crossed his legs as he sat on the blue table, watching as they left the room and closed the door behind them. He could only hear the quiet murmur of voices through the wall, words fading into white noise, but he wasn’t interested. Instead, he thought about the strange look David had on his face.

Max had seen him without his smile, but this felt off. It was the same sullen look he’d had when Gwen’s boyfriend showed up to the apartment and he was hidden around the corner. It was the same look that flashed across his face when he first saw Max’s scars — the same look he had when he first saw Max’s papers.

And it didn’t leave even when he came back into the room, pulling a false smile and saying they were ready to go. 

 

Gwen could tell that the visit hadn’t gone well when David and Max walked in. Though Max had taken his hood off, he was quick to retreat to his room, responding with a caustic  _ ‘fuck off’ _ when asked what he wanted for dinner. Gwen looked at David, who frowned somberly. Hell, he almost seemed  _ angry. _

“What happened?” She asked, surprised.

“It just… Wasn’t great.” David said. His gaze was focussed at his feet for a moment, green eyes burning for a moment before he looked up with his arms crossed. “I’m gonna go for a run.”

“Okay. Are you alright?” She asked.

“Yeah. I just have a lot of energy I should get out.” He responded. He hadn’t offered a single smile since he walked in, and it was unnerving to her. “I should be back before dinner.”

“Good, I gotta leave at 5:30 for work. You sure everything’s alright?”

David already had a hand on the doorknob, and paused for a second. “I’m fine.” He reassured, then left quietly.

Gwen waited for a moment, waiting for him to turn around and say he forgot something, but it didn’t happen. After a few more seconds, she got up from her recliner, putting on a light coat and her boots.

She knocked on Max’s door before opening it, peeking in without letting him respond. The kid looked up at her from his bed where he sat with his old DS, and his gaze was as cutting as it’d ever been. She’d gotten used to this look though, and was unfazed.

“Come on, twerp,” she said with a smile. “We’re gonna do something fun.”

 

David’s neighborhood, just outside of the city in a smaller town, was a lot like him — bustling with life and incessantly pleasant. Stepping outside of his apartment building was like walking into a feel-good coming of age movie from the 2000’s, expecting Katy Perry’s  _ California Gurls _ to start playing from the sky at any second.

But that wasn’t an all bad thing. Normally to do anything fun you had to go into the city, but Gwen seemed to have something else planned. The farther you got from the city the more thick the forests got, and the leaves had begun to turn in color from their bright green to faded yellows and reds all along the roads.

“God,” Max cursed. “Please don’t tell me you’re gonna take me on some stupid God damned nature walk. I had enough of those this summer.”

Gwen laughed. “Yeah, no. I’m pretty sick of nature walks too. How do you feel about bowling?” 

“Never been.”

“Seriously?” She asked, gaze flickering over to him before returning to the road, and Max shrugged. “I think you’ll like it. David didn’t like doing super competitive things at camp, but I get the feeling you like that kind of stuff.”

Max hummed his agreement, looking out the window with his head propped up on his hand. “Why aren’t we going into the city for this?”

“It’s always packed there. Plus, this is where I went to hang out when I was younger. Freshman year of college.” She leaned back with a smile. “The bars out here don’t card.” She laughed.

“How long were you in college?” Max asked.

Gwen hummed as she thought. “I think it was six years? I’m doing some online classes now, but I got out when I was 22.”

“You started college when you were  _ sixteen?” _

“Yeah, I skipped two grades when I was younger. You don’t pay for six years of college and online classes without a  _ lot _ of scholarships. Busted my ass back then.”

“What happened?” Max remarked snidely.

But it was a good question. What  _ did _ happen? When she was in high school she did nothing but study and read and try to avoid people. Two years after she graduated, she was a straight B student who spent weekends at bars with her friends, once getting hospitalized for alcohol poisoning.

Gwen laughed and rolled her eyes. “A lot. My sister passed away unexpectedly, and I guess that made me realize I needed to chill? We’d drifted apart when that happened, so I decided to try and, I don’t know, stay in the moment or whatever. She went through a lot that I had never known about.”

Max looked at her, scanning her. For a moment, he was scared he’d gone too far, something that he usually didn’t worry about, but Gwen seemed fine. “Shit,” he muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I learned some of my best traits from her. Being more confident, assertive and that. How to keep a job. It was hard to believe we were twins.”

Max laughed in agreement, and leaned back on the door. “How much longer ‘till we’re there?”

“‘Bout ten minutes. Can you DJ for me?”

Max nodded, grabbing her phone and hooking it up to the stereo.

 

The bowling alley probably hadn’t changed since the 90’s, clear from the patterned carpet that extended onto the wall and the arcade games that sounded out from the corner of the place. Gwen won the first round of bowling, and Max won the second, but both decided to call it a draw and spend the rest of their cash in the arcade. When they spent their tickets at the front desk, Gwen quietly took two from the end and put them in her pocket.

She messaged David about taking Max out, and by the late afternoon, decided that getting food would be good.  _ “I’ll bring home pizza so don’t worry about food” _ she texted him, and he responded with a thumbs up and a smiling emoji.

The pizza place in town was always slow and quiet, chain restaurants taking most of the business, but most knew that local pizza was better than chain regardless. Max sat at the booth while ordered, mindlessly messing with the salt shaker as he waited for Gwen to return.

“So,” she started, sitting down across from him. “What happened today at the doctor’s?” At the question, Max groaned quietly and looked away, sneering out the window as he leaned back. “Come on, you seriously didn’t expect me to just not ask, right? Both you and David seemed upset.”

Max sighed. “Broken rib.” He said, quietly, and Gwen’s face fell. “They said that it’s fine, should heal on it’s own, but…”

He trailed off, gaze flickering across the cars that passed through Main Street. He knew damn well that it wasn't his injury that upset him so much, and though he couldn't speak for David, he was pretty sure that wasn't what made him upset either. Gwen looked at him, trying to strategize or think of what to say to understand what was happening in his head. 

But she already knew that. She'd been there herself before. 

“But?” She prompted, and Max looked at her for a second before his gaze returned to the road.

“It doesn't matter. The bone, I mean. It's…” He struggled with his words for a moment, biting his tongue and thinking. “When I ran away, I thought they would be gone. I know they are, but it doesn't feel like it. It's like every time I find something new, they're back. And I feel like they'll never be gone.” He could have sworn the scars on his arms and shoulders were burning again, fresh as the first days he got them.

Gwen looked at him, thoughtful. 

“That’s the catch, isn’t it?” She mused, resting her head on her hand and then looking out the window. Max looked at her as she spoke, wondering if it was to him or to herself. “You always search for a means to an end when your in the thick of it, but that’s the problem. There really is no end. It’s hard to heal after trauma, and it takes a long ass time for it to get better.

“The bad news, you’re never gonna be completely healed of this. Some scars just don’t completely go away. But the good news is that you’ll never stop getting better, either. Your rib will get better. The scars’ll fade. But it still takes time, and you learn to live with it.”

Max looked at her, and she looked back from the corner of her eye, a small and comforting smile just barely pulling at her lips. He was confused and felt like he had some sort of chain wrapped around him, like he escaped the prison but never the shackles.

“You’ll stop feeling like that soon. Or you won’t, and you’ll learn to live with it. But it’s not holding you back unless you let it. Worst case scenario, you got me to drag you to the finish line.” Gwen explained. She turned back to face him. “I don’t know. Is that good advice?”

Max scanned her once again, his sharp gaze softened for the moment. “I think so, yeah. Thanks. The same goes for you.”

Gwen’s name was called from the kitchen, and she stood to grab their pizza. When she returned, Max was quick to start eating, and she joined in happily.

“You’re looking for an apartment, right?” Max asked, and Gwen nodded.

“Why d’you ask?”

Max shrugged vaguely, staying quiet for a moment. “You’re not moving in with your other friends because they like your dickbag ex, right?”

Gwen groaned and rolled her eyes, confirmation enough.

“You should stay with us.” Max muttered. “It’s cheaper than finding an apartment by yourself, and it’s not like you want to live with someone you don’t know if you need another roommate.”

Gwen smiled. “I mean, I’d love to, but you guys should probably have your space, yeah? Plus, David probably wants me out sooner than later.”

“Please,” Max scoffed. “He’s panicking about what he’s going to do when you’re gone. Doesn’t want to borrow money from his mom, doesn’t want to move out because kids need a ‘stable home life’ or whatever.”

“How do you know all of this?” Gwen asked, feeling like she’d asked it before.

“Read his texts.”

“Right. Didn’t I tell you to stop that?”

“That’s off topic. Listen, do you want to stay? David likes having you around.”  _ And I do, too, _ Max thought, but bit his tongue before he could say it. He’d never say it aloud, but he really liked having Gwen there — it was almost like it was before he’d been taken into foster care. It was messier here, more thrown together and made to work than it used to be, but it felt like having a family again.

It  _ was _ having a family again. And Gwen was a part of it, no matter how messy and thrown together it was.

Whether Gwen knew what he was thinking or not, she gave no hint of it. “Alright. I’ll probably check in with David first, but yeah. I’ll stay if you think it’s good for us.”

_ Us. _ Like they were a little family. 

It was nice to think he might have that again, just for a moment.

 

David was home by the time Gwen and Max got there, and he seemed like he was in a much better mood, on the couch with his book and a cup of tea. Gwen rushed to get changed for work, saying a quick goodbye and goodnight before leaving, but staying just long enough to see Max and David talking again.

It was 12:30 before she got home, and the house was entirely quiet. She turned the volume of the TV so low she could barely hear it after she turned it on, taking off her shoes and sitting on the couch. 

Before long, she heard the click of a door opening and a small shuffle of footsteps from down the hallway. Max saw her there, his eyes bright in the low light of the living room.

“Hey, kid,” she said. He looked tired, and blinked up at her as if to ask,  _ what are you doing awake out here? _ “Water?”

Max nodded, and Gwen stood up, walking to the kitchen.

“I can get it myself,” Max mumbled, but didn’t move to take over the small task.

“I got it.” Gwen said. “You can’t reach the cabinets anyways.”

Max kicked her shin lightly, and she laughed as she filled the cup and handed it to him.

“Get some rest, okay?” Gwen said, and Max hummed.

“You too,” he muttered before he walked off, going to bed and sleeping well for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I updated! To be honest, I just didn't know how to end this story, but after a lil while of brainstorming I think I created something nice. I really hope you guys liked this story, and sorry again for taking so long with this!


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